How can I tell when an abbreviation is an acronym?

Question

I know an acronym is an abbreviation that can be pronounced as one word, but when is an abbreviation pronounced as one word?

Making myself clearer, how do we know whether or not it is pronounced as one word or not? Is there any definite rule to go by? For example, today, we were discussing "AYAD", whether or not this was an abbreviation or acronym. We didn't know, and we didn't know how to tell whether or not it was an acronym.

So,:

Is there a rule to go by to determine an acronym from an abbreviation?
If there is, what is it?

Can someone please provide some details on this? Cheers!

I believe technically what you are asking for is the difference between an acronym and an initialism: http://english.stackexchange.com/q/3755/8019 — Tim Lymington, Jun 28 '11 at 12:23
@Philoto, I already know what an acronym is. My question is, how can you tell it is an acronym, if you didn't know how to pronounce it. How could you tell it was pronounced as a single word only? — Thursagen, Jun 28 '11 at 12:24
That question is answered in the link I posted earlier. You simply can't. — Philoto, Jun 28 '11 at 12:29
I don't know what an acronym is. I've seen three conflicting definitions. More, if one uses 'initial components' rather than 'initial letters' in the definition. Wikipedia says there is no consensus. — Edwin Ashworth, Aug 29 '14 at 19:25

score 5 · Accepted Answer · answered Jun 28 '11 at 12:37

5

The simple answer is, you can't. If you are having a conversation with someone who uses an acronym, the only way you'd know is if they spelled out the letters. Otherwise, you'd simply have to ask. And obviously used in written form such as an e-mail, you'd never know if it were an acronym outside of context. Though a good list can be found here.

A good rule of thumb is that acronyms that might look difficult to sound out are likely spelled instead (FBI, FDA, IBM to name a few).

answered Jun 28 '11 at 12:37

Neil

2,722

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Could you make your answer official, by referencing perhaps? I'd like a good solid argument, not just stating "you can't". Pardon my fussiness, but I just want to make absolutely sure. – Thursagen Jun 28 '11 at 12:39
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GNU's Not Unix ;) – mplungjan Jun 28 '11 at 12:52
@Ham and Bacon: You're asking for a reference for the absence of a rule? – Colin Fine Jun 28 '11 at 13:20
+1: I think the only rule is to try and sound it out as an acronym, and if it doesn't "flow" then spell it out as an initialism instead. – KeithS Jun 28 '11 at 14:17
@Colin the first rule of EL&U is that you don't talk about EL&U ! – mgb Jun 28 '11 at 14:49
Sorry, Ham and Bacon, but Neil's correct: There's no way to know - you can't tell just by looking. However, some are easier than others to deduce. "FBI" and "IBM," for example. The more the construction looks pronounceable, the more likely it is: "NASA," "FEMA." But: "DOT." They're all case-by-case. – The Raven Jun 28 '11 at 15:45
I found only one page explaining the absence of a rule for acronyms here. – Neil Jun 29 '11 at 09:23

How can I tell when an abbreviation is an acronym?

1 Answers1

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